Hi, my name is Sarah Samsel. I’ve lived 21 of my 22 years in Clarkesville, Ga., have two parents, five younger siblings and a dog.

I’m happily employed as Garden Coordinator for The City of Clarkesville, which means I get to spend much of my time with flowers—mostly the ones at The Mauldin House Garden and on Clarkesville’s Square.

I also enjoy creating dolls and things from cornhusks, painting windows and making pressed-flower art… which brings me to this year’s t-shirt.

The rainbow trout, and everything around it, is made entirely from tiny pieces of flowers, leaves and other kinds of plant material. First, I press them (Mom or my siblings often help with that.), then I apply the pressed botanicals to paper using a toothpick and Elmer’s glue. Below is a full list of the plants used for this piece of artwork.

Fish are some of my very favorite things to make. I feel honored and delighted for my rainbow to be on this year’s t-shirt! I hope that you enjoy it!

This picture is made of: hydrangeas, ferns, maple, money plant, aucuba, seaweed, cinnamon, turmeric, bark, rose, cotton, cornsilk, and angel’s trumpets.

Visit Sarah’s Etsy shop!